In Time
by Bakura13
Summary: Max is stoked about his mom coming to visit him in Japan and he finds out that Emily had been brought with her. Max still feels the same about Emily but does she feel the same about him? MaxEmily A bit of KaiEmily
1. Chapter I: Long Distance

Chapter I - Long Distance  
  
[I have an overly overactive imagination... I should do something about that. If there are any spelling mistakes, I apologize. I am writing this at one  
in the morning because I have nothing better to do. Anyway... Enjoy.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.]  
  
A blond-haired boy with light freckles sat in the living room of his house, watching the motionless telephone with eager cheerful blue eyes. He was sitting on his knees, looking over the arm of the sofa and just waited. He wore an odd combination of clothes: a pair of orange overalls and a green shirt underneath.  
  
Max's dad walked out from the kitchen, blinked a few times at his son's behavior then smiled. "Can't wait for your mom to call, eh?"  
  
"Yeah! It's been so long since I've talked to her from the American tournament! And she's finally going to travel all the way over here!" Max said excitedly.  
  
"Well, your friends are at the door. Should I let them in for you so you don't miss your call?" His dad asked.  
  
"That'd be great! Thanks, dad!" Max nodded then resumed his staring contest with the blue telephone.  
  
No sooner after the first ring finished, Max pounced, grabbing the receiver eagerly. "Hello?"  
  
"Good morning, Max. Or should I say afternoon, considering the time zones." Max's mother laughed slightly, sounding just as cheery as her son.  
  
"It's great to hear from you again, Mom!" Max stood up, holding the phone tightly on his ear. "I can't wait until you get here! It's gonna be great!"  
  
"I'm still packing a few things." Judy paused. "Emily, can you stay on the line while I get some?"  
  
"Uh... sure..." Emily's semi-audible voice sounded from the phone.  
  
Max felt a faint blush creep across his cheeks and he started to twirl the telephone cord through his fingers. It had been quite a while since he had even heard of or seen Emily since the tournament. Since then, he had always had a feeling that didn't completely disappear.  
  
"Hello? Anyone there?" Emily asked sounding sort of annoyed.  
  
"I...uh..." Max really couldn't get himself to say anything. "Hey, Emily..."  
  
"So it's you, Max." Emily replied. "Long-time no see. How have you been lately?"  
  
"Great!" Max finally found something to talk about instead of stumbling over words. "Our team has gone through a lot of tournaments and met a lot of new people! It was so cool! I've never seen so many different places in so little time!"  
  
Max noticed Tyson, Kenny and Ray entering from the hallway and he gave a quick wave.  
  
"Sounds fun... Have you improved in your beyblading at all or are you still at a novice level..." Emily's voice had a hint of amusement.  
  
"I've learned a lot of new things! I'll go for a rematch anytime!" Max said confidently, his nervousness dissipating.  
  
"Great then I'll see you at the airport later tonight..." Max swore he heard a mischievous giggle as the butterflies returned in his stomach.  
  
"Wh-Wh-what?!" Max felt the blush worsen and his voice seemed to jump an octave as he took no notice of his friends giving him skeptical looks. "You mean..."  
  
"Sorry, Max, but your mom is back." Emily said plainly, saying nothing more to him.  
  
Max stared hard at his socks, his cheeks still feeling heated up as he barely heard his mother speak to him on the phone. "Max? Honey, are you still there?"  
  
"Y-yeah, I'm here." Max coughed a bit, trying to keep his voice steady. "Is Emily really coming here too?"  
  
"I thought it would be a nice treat and I heard that she would like a rematch against you, Max. Besides, you all need to start getting along better... There was quite a bit of competition between all of you during the American tournament. That's fine with you, right Max?" She asked.  
  
"Uh... Yeah! It sure is, mom!" Max said quickly. "Listen, I'll let you pack the rest of your stuff and dad and I will pick you up at the airport, okay?"  
  
Ray and Kenny exchanged glances and shrugged as Max ended the conversation quickly, putting the phone back on the receiver. He turned around and fell back on the sofa, finding Tyson staring right at him face to face.  
  
"Tyson! What are you doing?" Max asked, finding the dark blue-haired beyblader staring him down.  
  
"So, who were you talking to, Max?" Tyson asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"My mom. She's traveling all the way from America to stay here for a while! It's gonna be so cool!" Max sat up.  
  
"Really?" Tyson asked, forgetting about the questioning. "That's great, Max!"  
  
Max nodded, thankful that the blush had disappeared. "I know! It's gonna be so much fun!"  
  
The group sat for a while, talking and Max mostly kept quiet, looking as his feet.  
  
'Emily's actually traveling all the way over here...?' He thought to himself.  
  
"Max! Did you hear what I said?"  
  
Max almost jumped a mile from Kenny interrupting his thoughts. "I...uh... Yeah! Sure did!"  
  
"Riiight..." Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, as the chief was sayin..."  
  
They talked for a good part of the afternoon and then the three left, leaving Max to think about the conversation he had on the telephone. Much later at night, Max waited with his dad at the airport for the arrival of his mother and Emily; if she was going to actually show up or not. He yawned a bit, taking a glance at the big digital clock, which told the time in bright red letters.  
  
"Flight 529 from America now disembarking." An announcement rang from one of the ceiling P.A systems.  
  
"It won't be long now, Max." His dad said. "That's your mom's flight."  
  
"Finally!" Max cheered, watching the doors intently.  
  
After several moments, people started walking out from the flight doors and went to get their luggage from the conveyer belt. Max skimmed over the crowds for any sign of his mother and finally saw her.  
  
"Mom! Over here!" Max yelled, waving his hands.  
  
He caught the gaze of his mother and waved excitedly as his mother gave a small wave back.  
  
"She's really here! Man, this is so cool! She actually traveled here for a visit!" Max beamed, forgetting his fatigue.  
  
He waited impatiently until his mother was barely ten feet away from him and he jumped from his seat, giving her a tight hug; completely forgetting that Emily was there.  
  
"Hey, slow down there. Your mom just got here, you know." Max's dad cautioned. "Besides, I'm sure she hasn't gotten used to the major time change. Judy."  
  
She simply nodded in reply.  
  
"Sorry..." Max backed up a few steps and grinned. "But you're really here!"  
  
"Ahem..." Emily readjusted her glasses, her blue eyes looking quite bored.  
  
"Max, I'm sure you remember Emily from the American tournament..." Judy gestured towards the ginger-haired girl.  
  
Max nodded, keeping strangely silent. "..."  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Emily." Max's dad said.  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Mister Tate..." Emily said, showing little interest with the acquaintances.  
  
"Well, since we're all here we might as well head to the house." Max's dad said as he got up, stretching.  
  
Max continued to stay quiet, finding his shoes very interesting. Sure, he was excited that his mom had traveled all the way from the United States to see him... but she had brought Emily with her and Max found it very hard to say much at all. When they had returned to the Tate's home, Max's parents decided to sit in the living room and chat for a while... leaving Max and Emily to talk in the kitchen. Or at least that was supposed to happen...  
  
"So..." Max scratched the back of his head nervously. "How was the flight...?"  
  
"Uneventful... the food was absolutely horrible..." Emily replied, still seeming uninterested.  
  
Max laughed slightly. It was more of a forced nervous laugh than an agreeable one. "Yeah... I guess they don't serve any of the good stuff a mile high in the air..."  
  
"Indeed..." Emily scanned the kitchen with her eyes.  
  
"That sort of reminds me... When we were heading for the American tournament, Tyson had eaten some or too much of the airplane food... got himself sick..." Max swore that he could see a slight amused smirk on Emily's face.  
  
"I bet that shut him up..." She answered.  
  
"It did the opposite... He kept complaining about how evil the food was and why they didn't have better things to serve..." Max laughed slightly, a little more relaxed.  
  
There was another awkward silence as the two kept their gazes averted. Even though it was late at night, Max was feeling slightly hungry and he started to wonder if Emily was too.  
  
"Hey... uhm..." Max started. "Are you hungry at all?"  
  
Emily glanced at him, hating the fact that her hunger was getting the best of her. "... A little..."  
  
"How about a little snack then?" Max got up from the table, walking over to one of the cupboards. "Is milk and cookies okay for you? You know, how late it is and all..."  
  
"Sure..." Emily raised an eyebrow. "That is fine with me..."  
  
"Great!" Max smiled, searching through the cupboard for the cookies. "I know they're around here somewhere... There it is!"  
  
He pulled out an unopened box of cookies and took two cups from the cabinet then he poured some milk into them and put the carton back in the fridge. Emily waited patiently as Max brought the said snack over and set the plate of cookies between them.  
  
"So, how do you like Japan so far? Even though you just got here and all and it's almost the middle of the night..." Max asked, carefully dipping the cookie in the milk and making sure it didn't crumble.  
  
"It's very... bright, considering what time it is... Almost like the big cities back home, actually..." Emily answered, breaking a cookie in half.  
  
"Cool..." Max popped the cookie in his mouth.  
  
"So..." Emily started off, not bothering to eat yet. "You don't mind me staying here, do you? Considering I'll be in the same house..."  
  
Max coughed and started to choke as soon as Emily finished her comment and he grabbed the glass of milk, swallowing about a quarter of it until he could breathe again. "I-" He coughed a few more times. "Of course I don't mind. You're with my mom, after all."  
  
The two ate their snack in an awkward silence, speaking for a moment or two about what had been doing on after the American tournament and what not. There was a single cookie left on the plate and they both reached for it, their hands brushing slightly and Max snapped his hand back to his side, his face showing a slight burning blush.  
  
"I-I'm sorry... G-go ahead." He stuttered.  
  
"No, no... You can take it. It's your house, I'm simply the guest." Emily stated, pulling her own hand back.  
  
Max frowned. He didn't want to seem selfish by taking the last one and leaving Emily with nothing, even though both of them were sharing a snack.  
  
"Here. This'll be fair to both of us." Max said as he took the cookie and broke in half as best as he good, smiling.  
  
He held out the bigger half towards Emily, whom in turn watched him quizzically then took it hesitantly. "Uhm... thanks..."  
  
They had finished their snack and Max took the dishes to the sink, rinsing them off then put them back in the cupboards.  
  
"Max, it's about time you get to bed." Max's dad called out from the living room.  
  
"You too, Emily." Judy said.  
  
"You should show where the guest room for Emily is, Max." His father spoke up again.  
  
"Uh... Sure!" Max said timidly, looking back towards Emily. "I'll help you with your stuff."  
  
Emily and Max left the kitchen and started gathering up the luggage. There was another split moment when they accidentally bumped into each other when they were picking up the bags.  
  
"Sorry! My mistake!" Max said quickly as he backed up.  
  
"Right... it happens all the time..." Emily answered. "Well...?"  
  
"R-right... It's down the hall. Come on." Max balanced the luggage under each arm and walked down the hallway timidly.  
  
He pushed the door open with his foot and set the bags down on the bed. Emily walked in, taking a few glances around in silence at the temporary placement.  
  
"Interesting..." She said quietly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"We haven't really had guests for a while... so make yourself comfortable and all. I'll... I have to be going now. Night." Max said hastily, ducking out of the room.  
  
He went back to his room and closed the door, heaving a heavy sigh. He didn't know how he was going to get through this without doing something clumsy. Bumping into her was one thing and he hoped it was the last so he wouldn't fell as embarrassed... 


	2. Chapter II: Not so Easy

Chapter II – Not so Easy  
  
[Thanks for the reviews oO; I'm not exactly used to writing these types of  
fan fics... so bear with me .; Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade]  
  
Max stirred in his sleep slightly as rays of sunlight started to seep through the blinds on his window and tickled his face, causing him to pull the blanket over his head. He yawned and reached over to find the clock on his desk to find out what time it was when someone was generous enough to tell it to him.  
  
"It's approximately 6:53 am, Max."  
  
The blond boy froze and looked out from the edges of the covers, his blue eyes peeking out from the shadows to see Emily standing in his room, fully dressed and ready to go as she adjusted her glasses.  
  
"Wha-E-Emily!" Max stuttered as he sat up on bed, holding the blanket over his head as he watched her. "W-what are you doing here?"  
  
The ginger-haired girl rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip as she shook a finger at the other beyblader. "You know why I'm here. Both you and your father picked up your mother and I at the airport last night."  
  
Max blinked then shook his head. "No, that's now what I meant. I mean, what are you doing -here-?"  
  
"Well, if you wanted that answer, you should have been more specific." Emily huffed. "You've overslept."  
  
Max stared at her, looked at the clock and looked back at Emily. "... But it's not even seven in the morning!"  
  
"Exactly" Emily stated triumphantly, causing Max to blink more. "One of your friends... I think it was Kenny... telephoned earlier to remind you that there was a practice today."  
  
Max's back stiffened. He had completely forgotten about the team practice that Kai was still running almost everyday since he could remember being on the Blade Breakers team. He started to laugh nervously and scratch the side of his face, trying to figure out what he was going to do with Emily around.  
  
Emily raised an eyebrow then shrugged, walking out of Max's bedroom but not without leaving a single comment before she pulled the door shut. "By the way... nice pajamas..."  
  
Max's face started to burn and he knew it as ducked back down, ending up slipping off of the bed and hitting the floor with a thump. He pushed the blanket back onto the bed and he went to the bathroom across the hall to get a shower. After his shower he sighed, wrapping a towel around his middle as he thought to himself.  
  
'Emily thought my p.js were cute...' He thought as he reached for the doorknob, only to see what it was turning on its own.  
  
The door opened and Max blinked a few times, water dripping from his hair-  
  
"AHH! Don't you know how to knock!?" Max said has he backed up a few more paces, almost falling back into the bathtub.  
  
Emily pulled the door shut again, blinking a few times as a blush crept across her face. "... I didn't hear anything and your mother is looking for you. I didn't mean to interrupt."  
  
"Well... Well knock on the door next time!" Max said in a hurry, feeling his face burn up again.  
  
Max waited until he heard Emily walk off and he looked down both ends of the hallway cautiously. 'Is she around every corner or somethin?'  
  
He ducked over to his room, quickly getting dressed in fear that Emily might open the door again. After he got dressed, Max walked down the stairs as he started to do up the last buckle on his overalls then he saw his mother waiting for him in the kitchen.  
  
"Morning, mom!" Max said cheerfully, showing a big grin as he got a glass of orange juice.  
  
"You're up early," Judy replied, raising an eyebrow. "Any special reason?"  
  
Max nodded, almost forgetting his hair was still wet. "Yeah. The guys and I are practicing our beyblading. I just forgot that we had a practice and if I don't get there on time, Kai is going to murder me!" Then he started drinking out of the glass.  
  
"Well, isn't that perfect." Judy said, watching her son blink confusedly. "It's a perfect chance for you to show Emily around town for a while."  
  
Max started to choke, for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, and covered his mouth so he wouldn't spit out the orange juice. He had to bring Emily to the practice with the rest of the guys? Max knew for a fact that it wouldn't settle well with any of them and he considered his options. He could bring Emily to practice and try to endure it while still getting some training done... with exception of Tyson's comments and Emily giving them a hard time... Or he could ditch practice, which... didn't sound very appealing either.  
  
"It's no problem, right Max?" Judy asked again.  
  
'I am so dead...' Max thought but he nodded in agreement with his mother.  
  
"That's wonderful! She could use a break from her training though I'm sure Michael, Eddy and Steven are a little jealous..." Judy said in thought.  
  
Max paled at the thought of the remainder of the All Starz team traveling to Japan with Emily and his mother. "I'm sure they are, mom."  
  
Max made his somewhat usual bowl of cereal for breakfast and sat down at the table, eating it quietly. It was pretty uneventful and he found things strangely quiet. One moment, Emily had been around almost every corner and the now she was nowhere to be seen. He only shrugged, finishing his breakfast off rather quickly before grabbing his beyblade and running out of the house; finding Emily sitting on the doorstep.  
  
"You took long enough." Emily stated as she stood up.  
  
"Sorry but I usually don't get ready in five minutes flat..." Max said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. His hair was still wet but he knew that it would dry out by the afternoon. "Well... uh... I should get to practice..."  
  
"You're not leaving me behind." Emily said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm not planning on being left behind just because your team needs... practice..."  
  
Max half-expected that as the girl's response and continued to scratch his head a bit, averting his gaze to the hedges as he thought of something. "Okay... I guess the guys won't mind. They should be cool with it."  
  
'They'll be cool with it alright...' He sighed mentally.  
  
"Then what are we waiting for?" Emily already started walking towards the street.  
  
"W-wait! Hang on, Emily! You don't know where you're going!" Max ran up to catch up with her.  
  
"It is quite obvious that you have to show me where I'm going so... stop wasting time." Emily watched the nervous blond beyblader.  
  
With another uneasy sigh, he put his hands in his pockets are started to walk down the street towards Tyson's home. Much to his discomfort, Emily was staying quiet for a little while. He kept his gaze towards his feet as he walked, thinking what he was going to do when he others saw Emily at their practice. After a few moments, Max raised his eyes just in time as he almost walked into Tyson. He stopped dead in his tracks, a nervous sweatdrop sliding down his face as he continued to see Tyson's shocked expression.  
  
'Here we go...' He thought to himself as he gulped fretfully.  
  
"What is SHE doing here?!" Tyson yelled, pointing to Emily.  
  
"You have no manners." Emily simply stated. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that pointing is rude?"  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you that spying on the world champions is called cheating?" Tyson shot back, still pointing accusingly to the American girl.  
  
Max put his hand over his face and let out an exasperated sigh. It was going better than he expected... barely. "Cut it out, Tyson, we have training to do."  
  
"Oh, no we don't!" Tyson crossed his arms. "Not with Emily around and spying on us!"  
  
"Tyson, come on!" Max pleaded. "She's not spying on us."  
  
"How do we know?" Tyson argued.  
  
Emily smirked slightly as she closed her eyes and adjusted her glasses. "You're not worth being spied on... It would be a complete waste of time and valuable hard drive space..."  
  
... That did it...  
  
"What?!" Tyson yelled loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood. "Are you calling us amateurs?!"  
  
"No, no, no, no..." Max shook his head and mumbled to himself.  
  
Taking the boldest action he had since Emily arrived, he grabbed the American girl's wrist and led her past the gate to Tyson's backyard. Tyson blinked as he watched Max walk by with his eyes closed and a burning blush across the bridge of his nose. Max continued to lead Emily to the area where Kai, Kenny and Ray were standing and he could feel their odd looks staring at him. He finally let go and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed to look angry but on the inside, he felt like he was going to have a heart attack from what he just did.  
  
"Emily!" Kenny spoke up, a little confused as well. "What a surprise. When did you get here?"  
  
"Last night..." Emily glanced around, an eyebrow raised at her surroundings. "So this is where you train... I must say, you Blade Breakers don't have much to work with... This is almost past pathe-"  
  
"Okay, who wants to start the first match of training?" Max cut her off nervously, a nervous grin on his face as he looked at the others.  
  
Kai and Ray exchanged curious looks with each other before looking back at the suddenly changed Max. Ray thought back to the previous day when Max was talking on the phone with his mom and crossed his arms. Something was up...  
  
"Somebody? Anybody?" Max started to get more nervous.  
  
"I'll take you on, Max..." Tyson had finally decided to speak up. "But I'm not beyblading if SHE is gonna spy on us..."  
  
"She won't! I promise!" Max waved his hands defensively.  
  
Tyson gave another glare towards the ginger-haired girl and stepped up to the beystatium, attaching his Dragoon beyblade to the launcher. Max set his beyblade on his own launcher and held it up.  
  
"All right! Three! Two! One-"  
  
"Hold up!" Emily interrupted, standing near the edge of the beystadium.  
  
Tyson and Max nearly face faulted and looked at Emily to see what she wanted.  
  
"Your stances are horrible." Emily noted. "You both look like amateur beybladers who are learning for the first time."  
  
"What?!" Tyson shouted for the nth time that morning. "We've always done this!"  
  
"Not like THAT." Emily pointed at Max. "If he launches his beyblade now, it will clearly miss the dish by a good couple of inches."  
  
Max looked down at his hands and found that Emily was telling the truth. His face flushed again in embarrassment and he shifted the aim of the launcher closer to the beystadium.  
  
"Honestly..." Emily sighed and put her hands on her hips. "If I wasn't here, you guys would be making complete fools of yourselves. Now if you could beyblade like Kai, there wouldn't be any problems..."  
  
Max sighed again, looking at the ground in disappointment. Emily was comparing him to Kai and that comment sort of dampened Max's spirits.  
  
"Hey, back off!" Tyson snapped. "Who died and made you queen of the beyblading world?!"  
  
"We all have our own styles, Emily..." Ray said, noticing the blond's unhappiness. "We all make some mistakes sometimes too."  
  
"I am simply pointing out the carelessness in your techniques. They are obviously flawed and it creates a bigger chance for failure." Emily glared towards Tyson and the other Blade Breakers. "You obviously don't want my help then there's no point in me wasting my time here!"  
  
Emily huffed and turned away, walking out the yard as she ignored Max. "H- hey! Emily, wait!"  
  
"Just leave her..." Kai muttered.  
  
"No, you don't understand." Max said nervously as he ran after Emily. "Emily, wait! Hang on!"  
  
He caught up to her walking away from Tyson's property and he stepped in front of her, his hands held up defensively.  
  
"Come on, Emily! You know Tyson wouldn't mean it that way!" He said quickly.  
  
"I was only trying to help..." Emily seemed saddened as she looked off to the side.  
  
"I-I know! Tyson's just being himself." Max reassured her. "Just come back... please?"  
  
He gulped nervously, watching Emily's face as he waited for an answer. When the other looked at him, he couldn't help the blush that crossed his face once again. She was actually looking at him without being her normal stubborn self... for the moment.  
  
"P-Please...?" Max asked again.  
  
[Whee... Sorry for the lack of updatedness and whatnot... I think I'll leave the chapter off right there XD evil cackle Oh, and any typos are probably missed as usual x.x] 


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